Updated! Is This For The Wachowskis' Remake Of INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS?

Hey folks, Harry here - Wired.com is running a story about an 8.5 minute film that it seems is going to be blown up and used at theatrical resolution as part of the Wachowski Brothers' planned remake of THE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS at Warner Brothers. The two best versions - Kevin McCarthy and Donald Sutherland - are just about perfect films - and there's a number of Body Snatcher-esque ripoffs that are fun too, including the one I was in, Rodriguez's THE FACULTY. So why retell this tale? I'm not sure, I'd love to find out more on their take of the material - as for now - certainly this excerpt from the short film, THE INNER LIFE OF THE CELL by David Bolinsky - is a helluva treat on its own. Enjoy...

Harry, you silly bastard.
First of all, the film's already done. It's called INVASION, or THE INVASION, or whatever the heck Warner Bros. finally settles on.
The majority of the film was done before Daniel Craig went off to shoot CASINO ROYALE. It was directed by Oliver (THE EXPERIMENT) Hirschbiegel, a pretty groovy German filmmaker. However, after a shitload of testing, the producers brought in The Wachowskis to reshoot the ending and punch up the film a bit.
That's what this guy in WIRED is talking about... his film is obviously going to be used in some fashion during some of the new framework that the Wachowskis reshot. Even the reshoots are already done. This thing's on track to be out at some point this year, and I would expect that with Daniel Craig and Nicole Kidman both appearing in THE GOLDEN COMPASS this year together and with Craig now finally an international star thanks to CASINO ROYALE, this will get a big push no matter how it's all finally Frankensteined together.

Four? Five?<p>I think there were two that actually carried over the name or some portion thereof, but there were a slew of knock-offs as well.<p>And, no, UltimaRex, I don't recall the Brothers W ever being original. You don't actually think they came up witht he idea for The Matrix, do you?

Oliver Hirschbiegel (Das Experiment, Downfall) made that film for WB but the film has been going through reshoot hell, he's left the project and there have been rumors of The Wachowski's being given a further $10 million budget to write/add some more action. Maybe they are just going to shelve the whole original film and get the actors (Kidman & Craig) to return under their original contracts.

Hollywood is like one huge 7th-Level Boss Zombie that refuses to drop dead no matter what weapons, spells, or combos you throw its way.<p>"Invasion of the Body Snatchers" 50s and 70s, "Bodysnathcers" 90s...now ANOTHER decade gets the "your uncle was replaced by a pod person copy" shit?

So yeah I was right. I despise any director who will take the job of doing reshoots for another persons film, it wouldn't be so bad if it was a Director trying to make a name for themself but the Wachowski's have already done that so this just reeks of selling out to me. I hope we get to see Hirschbiegel's cut on DVD like they did for The Exorcist prequel (even though both versions of that sucked donkey balls).

Or Dracula. Or Phantom of the Opera. Or a Christmas Carol. Or Miracle on 34th Street.<p><lb>I like people getting pissed off when they see a remake coming and claim Hollywood is running out of ideas. Get you heads out of your asses and realize that this shit's gone on for a long time and will continue for as long as there are movies. Shit, plays are always revived and reinvented. And still the same audiences see those fucking plays. Hell, people pay to hear covers of overplayed songs. It's part of the great circle of pop culture recycling. The only thing we can say is: Is it worth my time?

Don't even get me started on Christmas Carol. The best goddamn version was the Sanford and Son episode.<p>So, by you're argument Clone, we should just close our eyes, bend over and let it happen? Just because it's been status quo means we need to stick with it and never demand more? Ridiculous.

I'm sure that INVASION was a pretty smart film, because Oliver Hirschbiegel is a pretty smart filmmaker (he prefered directing DOWNFALL over BLADE TRINITY!). But smart films = No No in Hollywood! So the only way for German directors to get a job in Hollywood, is making films like TROY or INDEPENDENCE DAY!<p>
And I was really looking forward for this one! REALLY! <p>
Oliver! Komm zurück nach Deutschland! Tom Tykwer geht es hier auch gut!

remake the fuckin' Bible for all I care. They're a bunch of washed up, drag queens that had a moment in the sun when they stole The Matrix and then fell flat on their asses when they actually had to write something original for the sequels. And stop kidding yourselves, V for Vendetta was fucking lame and if I was Alan Moore I'd find that tranny fuck and kick him in the ovaries.

How about I not go see a shitty remake? Just like any other movie, I'll only go if something about it pique's my interest. <p><lb> I can't be the movie police. People love shitty movies. Just look at Norbit, Bruce Almighty, and Wild Hogs. "Original" movies can suck, too.<p><lb>I demand more with my money and I (usually) get it.

... like the short film above. Damn that was 7.5 minutes of pure nerd heaven. I would love to see that for an hour and a half or two, with Morgan Freemon narrating about what is happening and why inside the most basic building blocks of life. March of the Liposomes: December 2008.

"Wachowski Brothers" is the new code for Alan Smithee. There really are no Wachowski brothers. Just typically A-Rated directors who put out really poor films that they don't want on their resume - so they credit it to the mythical Wachowski's.

...is if, like War of the Worlds, it stays true to the core themes of the original. In this case, the original was about the fear of communism. This film should subtly tie itself to the similar fear of terrorists, so that it's adapted to reflect the times and isn't just a dumbed down version of a brilliant film.

That movie is a piece of shit, so it takes real balls to mention it. I saw Famke Jansen on The Daily Show once and she and John Stewart were laughing about how neither of them had seen it. Stewart chastises her for not seeing it and she says, "Like you've seen it." Funny stuff.

The Matrix was a damn fine movie, but the Wachowski's should be damned to hell for all eternity for permanently destroying the movie fight scene. EVERYBODY now wants us to believe their character is NEO . . . Hello? Drew Barrymore running up the side of a wall? EVERYBODY now is a top-notch martial arts expert? Nobody gets punched anymore . . . they all get Chuck Norris Flying Roundhouse Kicks to the face . . . UGH.

All three previous versions tapped into current socio-politial trends with unnering skill, and were well-made creature-features to boot. Although it's worrisome that the film is getting so heavilly reshot, and downright bizarre that the Wachowskis got the call to fill in the cracks to add extra "action". Do we need bullet-time pod people? I hope Hirshbeigel's[sp?] original vision doesn't get ruined in the process.

idea. A couple of people have mentioned this. If you dont mind, will someone give me the skinny on this. <p> As far as I was aware, the Matrix was on original idea by them. Either way though, the first one kicks all kinds of arse! Second = Meh. Third = WTF! V for Vendetta rocks too. That movie has seriously grown on me with re-watching.

after the shit fest that was matrix 2 & 3.
Fuck. they practically invented a new genre when they did matrix 1 (ok it ripped heavily off of ghost in the shell but who gives a rats arse), then they fuck themselves rectorially by doing 2 & 3. animatrix was a good concept, but they didnt direct any of that shit.

for fucks sake, fella. watch ghost in the fucking shell THEN come back on here. tired of these pissing idiot people who dont know shit, sprouting off their opinions like some crazy lord of the manor, or whatever yank equivalent you cunts have. grow a brain and educate yourself on films.

How close is it to the story of Ghost in the Shell? Did the producers of that say anything when the Matrix came out? <p> And I wasnt spouting opinions like a lord of the manor?!? All I said was I really liked the first Matrix and didnt care much for 2 and 3. You even made fun of my name. I am sad now :(

I was looking forward to her showing how the W-brothers ripped off her ideas in "The Third Eye." Because I'm sure they did.<p>http://tinyurl.com/3bf9pp<p>Sure, she's a wacked-out New Agey author with a serious "the white man has ripped me off" tint, but I'd be bitter too if my partial script (submitted through proper Hollywood channels) went on to make someone else a fortune.

Instead we get one retarded 'cool' scene after another with 'mythical' pseudo-religious bullshit dialogue that doesn't belong on screen it belongs in the Wachoffskis' fucked up heads (one of them's more fucked up than the other, of course...). What a BOREFEST the sequels were.

Stupidest shit I have heard these past years is junk like "should be damned to hell for all eternity for permanently destroying the movie fight scene" WHAT KIND OF UTTER BULLSHIT IS THAT? They hire Wo Ping to do something kickass, get ripped off, and now they are to blame!? I suppose Cameron & Spielberg should die in a fire for all their early usage of CGI, right? Fuck off. Of course they just provided some rewrites on this one, and Vendetta Director (Matrix Assistant Director) James McTeague did the directing duties. Daniel Craig had my money a long time ago for this one.

The Wachowskis were sued by Sophia Stewart for plagiarism after she saw The Matrix in 1999. She claimed many of the ideas from her manuscript, "The Third Eye" which copyrights back to 1981, were lifted wholesale.
Now, I will say that the lawsuit was dismissed because of Ms. Stewart's failure to make a court date. However, like I said in my post, it becomes painfully obvious that their ideas were not their own when you look at the sequels and the fact that they failed to present anything new except a bunch of blathering, new-age bullshit about destiny and free will and the much-loved "cave rave".

Has no credibility with me. You didn't like the movies... okay, not your thing, fine... Have some criticisms about acting or pacing or whatever, okay... But by calling them utter shit and attempting to make yourself sound credible by throwing in a few relatable words like 'religious' and 'pseudo' or other jargon like you even knew what you were talking about is just too damned funny.

Absolutely they're to blame for killing the fight scene. Sure they did great stuff, but they beat it to death across three movies, which utterly undermined its coolness in part 1. They overdid it, and everyone followed their lead. I would leave them alone, if they had kept parts 2 & 3 to themselves and left well-enough alone.

That rave was the stuff of nightmares. I remember sitting in my theater seat just utterly baffled as it went on . . . and on . . . and on . . . and on. I fear the possibility of an "Extended Cut" of the film where the rave lasts for 84 minutes.

So, WB take Oliver Hirschbiegel, one of the best directors to come up in recent years (Mori credited The Experiment, but he also directed the incredible Downfall) and end up f***ing up his movie? Also, kinda sad to watch the Wachowskis reduced to studio puppets. But maybe they did this only to get the green light for Speed Racer. It didn't work for the Exorcist prequel and I doubt it'll work here.

If you don't like what is being made in the film or tv industry, then don't watch it. It's not that difficult and if you want something original and don't like what the professionals are coming up with, then quick your lack-luster bitching and do something about it. Write something original. Constantly complaining on sites like this one doesn't change anything. Just bitching about what you don't like won't change it. Do something about it like; come up with your own original idea and submit it to people. Get in touch with the right people and let them know how you feel about the remakes being done and what you call horrible movies. Are you the professionals who decide what is bad and what is good? No! You are just regular people like me that has an opinion, but unless you express that opinion to the right people things will not be changed. I've been reading your responses on here and I've got to say that you all have absolutely no lives what-so-ever. You are all the lamest people and the most ignorant people I've come across in a long time. Who cares if a woman who used to be a man makes movies. It doesn't make them any less of a professional. Only an ignorant bigot would boycott something because it was made by a trans-sexual or a gay man, or even a lesbian. To all of you out there that have nothing better to do with your lives then bitch about something instead of seeing what you can do to change it.......GET A GOD DAMN LIFE!